When my kids were young, this was one of my go-to recipes. We ate it once week for lunch just as most families eat mac and cheese regularly. It's packed with fiber from all the veggies and whole wheat noodles. Peanut butter is a favorite at our house, so peanut sauce is always a hit.
Ingredients
Peanut Sauce:
½ cup peanut butter
½ cup water
1 or 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 or 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
Optional: grated fresh ginger (about 1 or 2 teaspoons)
Optional: grated fresh garlic (about 1 clove)
Noodles:
8 oz (½ of a 16 oz box) whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables
1 container extra-firm tofu
Preparation
Cook the noodles in boiling water according to package directions (about 7 minutes).
During the last 2 minutes of cooking time, add the frozen vegetables to the pot.
Cook until the veggies are warm and drain them with the noodles.
While the noodles are cooking, prepare the tofu and peanut sauce.
For the tofu:
Cut the tofu brick into 4 equal slices, the slices should be a similar shape to a slice of bread.
If desired, brown the tofu slices: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1 teaspoon oil. When oil is hot, add tofu and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until brown. After browning, transfer slices to a cutting board and cut into bite-sized squares.
Tofu is safe to eat raw if you don’t like cooking it. Simply cut it into squares and set aside until the noodles are done.
For the peanut sauce:
While tofu and noodles are cooking, combine peanut sauce ingredients in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl (½ cup peanut butter, ½ cup water, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 Tablespoon brown sugar, juice of 1 lime, 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, 1 minced clove garlic).
It is okay to leave out the lime, ginger and garlic if you don’t have any, but it will taste much better with all of the ingredients.
Microwave peanut sauce ingredients for 1 minute.
Stir until combined
Once everything is done, pour peanut sauce on top of the cooked noodles and vegetables.
Stir so that the sauce covers everything and top with the tofu.